Boston Red Sox, Braden Aboud Foundation arguing over 'B STRONG'

Gary Aboud: 'We're at an impasse and I'm afraid soon we will be going to court'

A variety of products sporting the "B Strong" phrase at the office of the Braden About Memorial Foundation at 5024 Doniphan, Suite 2 in West El Paso Wednesday. The foundation trademarked the phrase in 2007, said the foundation's director, Cindi Aboud. (Rudy Gutierrez / El Paso Times)

The Braden Aboud Memorial Foundation is approaching a legal showdown with the World Series champion Boston Red Sox over the use of the "B STRONG" logo and slogan.

Gary Aboud, father of Braden Aboud who died in 2007, said the foundation has been in legal discussions with the baseball team for several months over "B STRONG," which has been trademarked by the foundation for almost seven years.

"We're at an impasse and I'm afraid soon we will be going to court over it," Gary Aboud said. "It's a David versus Goliath battle."

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Aaron Bracamontes

The El Paso Times reached out to the Red Sox communications department but did not immediately receive a response.

The Braden Aboud Foundation was created in 2007 and that same year trademarked the slogan "B STRONG" with the logo of a "B" on a dove over the word "strong," Gary Aboud said.

Since then, the foundation has had to issue a cease-and-desist letter from other organizations trying to use a variation of "B STRONG."

At one point the Livestrong Foundation, while trying to protect its trademark, prohibited the Braden Aboud Foundation from donating to cancer research.

Following last year's Boston Marathon bombings, the Red Sox started using its logo over the word "strong" on uniforms, merchandise and the stadium.

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That warranted a cease-and-desist letter from the Braden Aboud Foundation.

"They didn't do much with it in the summer, but in the fall they started back up," Gary Aboud said.

During the World Series, the Red Sox "B STRONG" logo was cut into the outfield grass of Fenway Park and it could be seen on national television. The Red Sox won the championship in October.

Legal representatives for the Red Sox and the foundation have been in discussions for several months but are not close to an agreement, Gary Aboud said.

The Red Sox have offered a joint-licensing agreement that would recognize the Braden Aboud Foundation as the owners of "B STRONG," and allow the baseball team to use it.

The hold up is any compensation for the foundation, Gary Aboud said.

"They are not willing to give it up because they feel there is no marketing confusion," Gary Aboud said. "There is value to it because they don't want to give it up and they are not willing to cease and desist."

An Internet search for "B STRONG" shows several links to the Braden Aboud Foundation and several images of the Red Sox logo.

"They have sold that on merchandise and made money over it," Gary Aboud said. "They give the money to charities, but we're not included on that list."

Gary Aboud said they may have to file a lawsuit within the next couple of months against the Red Sox and Major League Baseball.

If the foundation does not fight to protect the trademark, there is a chance they can lose the rights to it, Gary Aboud said.

"It is becoming almost a full-time job to protect this name," he said.

In 2011, the Braden Aboud Foundation had to ask the family of Belinda Hernandez, a former Chapin High School softball player who died from brain cancer, to not use "Bee Strong" while gathering cancer donations because of the trademark.

Braden Aboud died in skiing accident in Ruidoso and his family created the foundation in his memory. The foundation helps disadvantaged students.

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